Army, police and CRPF have jointly appealed to militants to surrender, asking them to shun the path of violence

Highlights

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Army, police and CRPF on Monday jointly appealed to militants to surrender.

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The announcement came even as Rajnath Singh wrapped up his trip to Kashmir Valley.

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A top police officer in JK Police said that this approach could be a game changer.

After two arrests in counter terror operations the Army, police and CRPF on Monday jointly appealed to militants to surrender, asking them to shun the path of violence. This came after back to back surrender in Shopian and Kulgam encounter in South Kashmir.

The announcement came even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh wrapped up his trip to Kashmir Valley and headed to Jammu on the last leg of his four day tour to the strife torn state. Sources said that Singh told security forces to have a humane face. He asked them to go for the "kill" if required but to make an effort to reach out. However, the decision to appeal to the forces was a long thought decision, said a top source in Jammu-Kashmir.

One of the first to surrender was Adil, a-17-year-old, who had picked up the gun 3 months ago. The police says that Adil was forced to surrender as his gun got blocked. They hope that teenagers, students and youth who have picked up the gun and not committed any act of terror can come back to the fold of the society. Another overground worker Arif Sofi also surrendered in Khudwani, Kulgam.

"Adil is only a teenager, he could've been killed by the forces but he was given a chance to live and come back to the mainstream. That's why we caught him alive. It's a clear message to others who have been lured into militancy that if they come back, we'd receive them with open hearts," IGP Kashmir Muneer Khan told India Today.

Sources say peer pressure and even a glamour factor like "poster boy Burhan Wani", "peer pressure" and "guns and girls" made young boys pick up guns. Most of them do not have maturity, they do not know what they are getting into, a top officer said.

While the Jammu and Kashmir government has a surrender policy, there have hardly been any surrender post Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's death. However, a top source from the security force said that this should not deter them from making an attempt to get the militants to surrender. A top police officer in JK Police said that this approach could be a game changer.

Not all within the security establishment, however, were very confident. "There is a hardcore militancy in South Kashmir, but we may as well try." This may have an impact on local militants but cannot be true for foreign terrorists.

This comes hours after Zulfikar Hassan, CRPF IG told India Today, "We want to assure every person in the Valley that the future would be safe if you decide to get away from whoever is misguiding you."